MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. Hostile forces are manipulating current developments to instigate people against the background of horrific footage of death and suffering coming out of the Gaza Strip, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday, commenting on rioting crowds at the airport in Makhachkala, Dagestan.

"It is obvious that, against the background of television footage showing the horrific developments in the Gaza Strip, the death of people, including children, the elderly and medical personnel, hostile forces are easily manipulating the current situation, provoking and inciting other people [to riot]," Peskov said, commenting on the recent disorder at the airport in Makhachkala, capital of the overwhelmingly Muslim Dagestan Region in southern Russia.

Mass riots took place at the airport of regional capital Makhachkala on October 29. The unrest was caused by the arrival of a regular flight from Tel Aviv amid tensions in the Middle East. Several hundred people entered the airport building and went to the tarmac; they were eventually dispelled by law enforcement officers.

According to the latest data, over 20 people, including police officers, suffered injuries, and 60 rioters were detained. Dagestani authorities and religious leaders condemned the incident, linking it to an attempted provocation.